Ositech makes it possible for storm chasers to target historical tornado outbreaks

June 15, 2003

The first two weeks of May 2003 will be remembered for the series of tornado outbreaks that shattered records. An unprecedented number of tornadoes raked across Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of Texas during that period.

Being a storm chaser, the unique weather pattern allowed an incredible chasing opportunity, especially since I travel all the way from Canada. Even with so many tornadoes, it’s still very difficult to get into a position to actually see them. We have to forecast where we think the strongest  storms are going to be and then get into our target area, often long before the first storms start to fire up. Along the way, additional data is needed to further narrow the target area. Mobile wireless internet access has become an essential tool.

I had just received my new Ositech King of Hearts wireless access kit and was eager to test it out. On May 15th we were targeting an area North of Amarillo, Texas. During the early afternoon hours, we waited at a truck stop in Amarillo where I used the landline capabilities of the King of Hearts to connect to the Internet and download weather data. Once we felt it was time to leave for our target area, I disconnected the landline and switched over to cellular operation.

Because the King of Hearts is capable of both digital and analog connectivity, we were able to grab quick updates even as we drove into some of the remote ranching land in the Texas Panhandle. Our target storm was near the town of Stratford and once we got into position we were able to document 2 separate tornadoes, a white “elephant trunk” shaped tornado and a ¾ mile wide “wedge”. They were the first of a total of 4 tornadoes we witnessed that day.

It was the best chase day I’ve had so far and it wouldn’t have been possible without wireless data access from the King of Hearts.

By George Kourounis
www.stormchaser.ca

 

Walter Hare, Media Relations, Ositech Communications Inc.
1-888-674-8324, ext. 244
E-mail: walterh@ositech.com

©2008, Ositech Communications Inc.
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